The
Maori settled in New Zealand around 1100 AD, from the early days of colonisation they spoke of mighty
ape-men who resided in the forested areas, these areas they dared not venture
into as these hairy beasts were known to tear men apart, had huge lacerating fingernails and fed on human flesh.

They
were known by many names Moehau, Maero, Matau, Tuuhourangi, Taongina, and Rapuwai. The Moehau were describes by the Maori
as being “Terrible creatures, half man, half animal”, with a very aggressive temperament, they were only too happy
to massacre and eat anyone that strayed into their domain.

Early
encounters often talk of these creatures exhibiting aggression and throwing rocks to frighten people off. It was these creatures,
largely found in the Coromandel Ranges, that were thought to be responsible for the find of a headless, partially devoured
body of a prospector in the Martha Mine region in 1882, later further up in the foothills the corpse of a woman was found,
it was discovered she had been dragged from the shack in which she lived while the remainder of her family were away, her
neck had been snapped.

On
the topic of aggressive behaviour, Toanginas were greatly feared by the population of the lower WanganuiRiver as they were said to viciously attack any fishermen who strayed
into their territory. This vicious behaviour however seems to have abated in more modern encounters as the beasts in most
instances flee on sight of humans.

Rapuwai
are believed, from legend, to be able to crush any strong Maori warrior with ease employing their large powerful hands.

They are said to be tool-producing beasts using wood
and stone, the articles crafted are said to resemble those produced by Homo erectus hominids.

Moehau
are depicted as being as tall as a man, completely hair covered, with marginally ape-like facial features. The primary difference
from human appearance being the extremely long fingers, tipped with sharp talons, capable of tearing apart the toughest prey.
Often described as “Manimals”.

It is possible that if these man-beasts existed prehistorically they would have been more than capable of bringing
down the largest of Moa -Dinoris giganteus. The large talons
spoken of seem to designate this creature's predatory nature. However, large talons are also found elsewhere in the animal
kingdom in animals that rip open rotten logs to acquire nourishment, considering the indigenous Maori used to eat the large
nutritious Huhu Grubs; it is not impossible that this beast may also be insectivorous.

Matau
Giants are described as being ape like but 3m tall.

The
Rapuwai are gigantic, slow clumsy creatures that are of a strong muscular stature.

These
creatures can be categorised as follows, those that are the stature of an ordinary human, the Moehau and Maero and those that
are of giant stature the Matau, Tuuhourangi, Matau Giants and the Rapuwai.

Many areas of New Zealand
are named for these great hairy man beasts, MoehauMountain, where they are believed to reside and people are cautioned against going up
there is one such place.

The
Moehau are thought to populate both Mount Tongariro and Ruapehu, the Karangahake Gorge, Coromandel Ranges, Martha Mine Region,
Waikaremoana – in the Urewera Ranges, The Heaphy River of the Northwest Nelson State Forest Park, Kaikoura Mountains,
Fiordland National Park and are believed to be very common in the Haasts Pass area particularly around the Haast River.

The
Matau Giants inhabit LakeWakatipu in Central Otago. Toanginas are found in the lower reaches of the WaikatoRiver. Maero are encountered in bush country throughout both the North
and SouthIslands.
Rapuwai are said to inhabit the Marlborough Distract and the Milford Sounds area. There is further another as yet unidentified
type of man beast that lives in the CameronMountains
in the South West of the South Island.

Why
have no bodies of these beasts ever been found?

I
think that is readily explained by the fact that these 'Manimals' may have a conception of death and bury their deceased.
If this is the case the New Zealand bush does not give up its dead readily, the chances of finding a buried carcass, unless
you know precisely where to look, are reasonably slim, especially in some of the more inaccessible areas.

It
is possible that some of these man-beasts may still exist in the more remote isolated areas of bush throughout both Islands. With habitat destruction and human encroachment this species, if it survives, must unquestionably
be on the brink of extinction or maybe already extinct. It appears the last bastion of the Moehau is in the CoromandelRanges, where accounts seem to indicate
they resided in their greatest population density.

Footprints
are in most instances the main evidence of these creatures, in 1903 footprints larger than a mans were found in the Karangahake
Gorge in Coromandel. In 1971 a trail of footprints similar to a mans though extended in appearance was located on snow-covered
ground and led into a zone of bush on a hillside by a Park Ranger. 1983 was when a deer hunter chanced upon man-like footprints
that could have been no more than an hour old along a riverbank in the HeaphyRiver area. In 1991 campers in the CameronMountains of the South Island elected to abandon
their camp after finding unusually large man-beast prints near where they were camping.

In
1970 another party of campers had to abandon their camp as a 2m tall man beast assailed them screaming loudly and hurling
rocks at the camp.

1972
and a hunter in the Coromandel ranges watched a naked, hairy man beast about 2m tall work its way through the scrub on the
other side of a gully, upon reaching the place the creature had been transversing footprints were found.

An
undated sighting surfaced from the Sunday News stating that an occupier of the Lake Mahinapua Pub had been having his vegetable
garden raided regularly, the offender was exposed when a man beast was witnessed dashing to the protection of the bush with
an arm load of Silverbeet.

Regrettably
some of the Coromandel sightings may have been of an escaped Gorilla. A vessel anchored near Wai Aro in 1924 had a pet Gorilla
as a mascot, the animal managed to slip away from the ship and was never captured, however sightings of the beast provoked
a few startled reports from the region.